The Basics of Clauses in English

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb that have a relationship. This
relationship is crucial; a clause conveys information about what that subject is or is doing, rather than
simply being a random grouping of words. Because a clause expresses an action or a state of being, a
clause can often—but not always—function as an independent sentence.
A sentence can have just one clause or it can have multiple clauses. The only defining characteristic
of a clause is that it must contain a related subject and verb. Clauses play a variety of roles in English
and because of this, there are numerous ways to structure and combine them.
Classifying clauses in English
When it comes to expressing a complete thought, a clause falls between a phrase and a sentence. In
many cases, a clause can function as its own sentence. A phrase, in contrast, can’t. Here’s a quick
look at the difference between a phrase and a clause:

● Phrase: Meows so loudly

● Clause: That cat meows so loudly

How do clauses in English work?

Clauses can perform three distinct functions: They can operate as adverbs, adjectives, or nouns.

Here’s an example of a noun clause:

● She completely understood everything he said.

In this example, everything he said is a dependent clause that acts as a noun because it
communicates the specific “thing” that she, the subject of the sentence, understands. Everything he
said can be replaced with his explanation and the sentence still makes perfect sense:

● She completely understood his explanation.

To test whether a clause is a noun clause, try swapping it out for a noun. If your sentence still makes
sense, you’ve got a noun clause. Here are two more examples of noun clauses illustrated through
swapped-in nouns:

● They remembered what the keynote speaker covered.

o They remembered the keynote speaker’s presentation.

● I don’t know how the company handles onboarding.

o I don’t know their on boarding process.

Just like a noun clause is a clause taking on a noun’s role, an adverbial clause is a clause acting as an
adverb. For example:

● She fixed the sink without facing difficulty.

o She fixed the sink easily.

● The pool was installed after they built the deck.
o The pool was installed later.
Based on the other two categories, we bet you can guess how an adjective clause works. In case you
can’t, here it is: An adjective clause acts as an adjective in its sentence. Here are a few examples with
adjectives swapped in to illustrate them:
● My friend who rides a motorcycle said it’s a great weekend to ride.
o My motorcyclist friend said it’s a great weekend to ride.
● No matter what time of day we visit, we always run into the dog that barks.
o No matter what time of day we visit, we always run into the loud dog.
Types of clauses
Independent clauses
An independent clause is a clause that can stand on its own as a distinct sentence. Take a look at
these examples:
● I love eating cookies.
● My dog barks a lot.
● The kids ate lunch.
● His truck is green.
As you can see, independent clauses aren’t long or complex sentences. They can certainly be part of
complex sentences, but by definition, they are known as simple sentences. Other types of
sentences include complex sentences, compound sentences, and compound-complex
sentences. Each type of sentence is created by a unique combination of independent and dependent
clauses. We’ll get into the ways to combine clauses to create different kinds of sentences shortly.

Dependent clauses
In contrast, a dependent clause is not a complete sentence. Dependent clauses are sometimes known
as subordinate clauses. As their name implies, these clauses depend on independent clauses to
clearly express ideas. Here are a few examples of dependent clauses:
● When I grow up
● Although he sings well
● The mouse that was hiding
To turn these dependent clauses into full sentences, you need to combine them with independent
clauses:
● When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.
● Although he sings well, he hates karaoke.
● I searched through the basement and found the mouse that was hiding.
Take a look at these three sentences and see if you can pick out the differences between the first two
and the last one.
In the first two examples, the dependent clause comes before the independent clause and the two
clauses are separated by commas. Keep this in mind when you’re writing: Whenever the dependent
clause comes first in a complex sentence, it’s followed by a comma.
How to combine clauses
When you want to write a sentence that’s more than one independent clause, you need to combine
clauses. Every sentence you write includes at least one independent clause. The other clauses in
your sentence determine how you can combine them with your independent clause.
A sentence that includes two or more independent clauses is known as a compound sentence. In a
compound sentence, the clauses are joined by a comma paired with a coordinating
conjunction, a semicolon, or a colon. This kind of combination is known as coordination. Take a
look at these examples of compound sentences:
● I love drinking soda, but I know it’s bad for my teeth.
● Maria loved hosting dinner parties; her friends enjoyed her cooking.
● We danced until the band finished playing: they played until midnight.
When all of your clauses are independent clauses, you can combine them using a coordinating
conjunction. In English, the coordinating conjunctions are:
● For and nor but or yet so
If you need to combine a dependent clause with an independent clause, you need a subordinating
conjunction. There are a lot more subordinating conjunctions than there are coordinating
conjunctions, and they can be divided into categories according to their function.
A sentence that includes an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses is known as
a complex sentence, and a sentence that includes two or more independent clauses and at least one
dependent clause is known as a compound-complex sentence. In either of these kinds of
sentences, the subordinating conjunction signifies the beginning of the dependent clause. Here are a
few examples:
● The fun can begin now that the clown is here.
● While we slept, the plane reached its destination.
● Before you leave, remember to take a goodie bag!
● The pool is open daily until the temperature drops.
As you can see in these examples, when the dependent clause comes first, it needs to be followed by
a comma.
Subordinating conjunctions aren’t the only way to add a dependent clause to a sentence. Dependent
clauses can also start with relative pronouns or relative adverbs.
Relative pronouns include that, whose, whom, who, and which. Take a look at how these dependent
clauses that begin with relative pronouns work in sentences:
● The guy who shouted all night made it impossible to fall asleep.
● Pac’s, that restaurant with the arcade, is the best restaurant in town.
Relative adverbs include where, when, how, and why. Here are a few relative adverb-led dependent
clauses at work:
● The traffic jam is the reason why we were late.
● I have no idea when my hose stopped working.

Answers

1. My friend helped me when I was in danger. (Adverb clause)

2. We believe in democracy though it has its shortcomings. (Adverb clause)
3. My parents were happy because I won the first prize. (Adverb clause)
4. This is the girl who talked to me yesterday. (Adjective clause)
5. I have lost the tickets which I bought. (Adjective clause)
6. He could not answer any of the questions that I asked him. (Adjective clause)
7. Although he is very rich, he is a miser. (Adverb clause)
8. Everybody admits that he is a brave man. (Noun clause)
9. We knew that he was guilty. (Noun clause)
10. What he told me was a lie. (Noun clause)
11. He gave me everything that I asked for. (Adjective clause)
12. Your statement that you lost the money cannot be believed. (Noun clause)

i) Noun Clause
A noun clause is a dependent clause that acts as a noun. Noun clauses begin with words such as how, that, what,
whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever and why. These words
generally come before the subject and the verb of the noun clause. Noun clauses can act as subjects, direct
objects, indirect objects, predicate nominatives, or objects of a preposition, e g.
● Choose a gift for whomever you want.
(Whomever you want is a noun clause and it contains the subject you and the verb want. The clause acts as
an object of the preposition for in the sentence.)
● On weekends, we can do whatever we want.
(‘Whatever we want is a noun clause and it contains the subject we and the verb want. The clause acts as a
direct object in the sentence.)
● I wonder how long we should wait here.
(How long we should wait here is a noun clause and it contains the subject we and the verb phrase should
wait. The clause acts as a direct object in the sentence.)

Adjective Clauses describe a noun or pronoun in the main clause, e.g.

1. The book which has a green cover is mine.

2. The boy who is playing outside is my brother.
3. God helps those who help themselves.

Adverb Clauses function as adverbs in relation to the main clause or other clauses. They may modify the verb or
an adjective or another adverb by expressing their time, place, reason, purpose, result, condition, manner etc.,
e.g. Make hay while the sun shines._You may go whenever you like._Plants breathe as animals do.

1. We eat that we may live.

2. He ran so hard that he got tired.
3. She failed because she wasted her time.
4. If I make a promise, I keep it.